- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Bloomberg that China is the country that stands to benefit the most from a trade war between the U.S. and EU. Her comments come as the EU imposed 50% tariffs on American whiskey in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The only country benefiting from a trade war between the U.S. and the European Union is China, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Kallas, who until last year served as the first female prime minister of Estonia, said in an interview with Bloomberg that China is “laughing” at the tariff squabble.
“Who is laughing on the side or looking at the side is China,” Kallas told Bloomberg during a G7 meeting in Canada. “It’s really benefiting from the U.S. having a trade war with Europe.”
After the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on any imported steel and aluminum, the EU struck back with a 50% tariff on American whiskey. In response, President Donald Trump threatened a 200% tariff on EU-imported alcohol like champagne and wine.
On Thursday, Trump stood firm on his threat, telling reporters he will not reconsider upcoming tariffs that go into effect on April 2. He called on the EU to drop its tariffs on American whiskey or face reciprocal tariffs.
“I’m not going to bend at all,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kallas said the EU would also not back down from a tariff fight.
“We keep a cool head and of course we are ready to act and defend our interest when we need to,” she said.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said during a press conference Friday that she would not comment “on how the U.S. and Europer get along,” but China was not at issue.
“There will be no winner from a trade war or tech war,” she added.
Canada also hit the U.S. with billions of dollars of reciprocal tariffs in retaliation for its steel and aluminum tariffs, an action Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called “tone deaf.”
The latest escalation between the U.S. and EU comes as the U.S. stock market fell into a correction Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling more than 10% below the all-time-high it hit just three weeks ago. Uncertainty about tariffs and the threat of a recession have spooked investors, and the Atlanta Fed now predicts the U.S. GDP will decline by 2.4% in the first quarter.